


Cornelia Street

by wildcatlizzie



Series: Mended Hearts [10]
Category: Chris Evans (actor) - Fandom, Real Person Fiction
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Developing Relationship, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Smut, Hurt/Comfort, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-21
Updated: 2020-08-21
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:54:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,364
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26026018
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wildcatlizzie/pseuds/wildcatlizzie
Summary: “Oh my god! What the fuck was Ithinking?” she screeched, spinning around to face her friend again, her eyes wide as her anxiety fully took hold of her. “Anactor! Did I actually think I could date an actor? And not just any actor! No! I had to go and decide that entering a relationship with Chris-Captain-Fucking-America-Evans was a good idea.” She laughed a bit manically, pulling at her hair again.
Relationships: Chris Evans (Actor)/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Mended Hearts [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1590325
Comments: 4
Kudos: 24





	Cornelia Street

**Author's Note:**

> "We were a fresh page on the desk  
> Filling in the blanks as we go
> 
> ...
> 
> Back when we were card sharks, playing games  
> I thought you were leading me on  
> I packed my bags, left Cornelia Street  
> Before you even knew I was gone  
> But then you called, showed your hand  
> I turned around before I hit the tunnel  
> Sat on the roof, you and I"
> 
> \-- Cornelia Street, Taylor Swift

_June  
Two months since Abby’s death_

“Hold your horses!” Kaitlyn called, trotting to her front door from the bedroom. She swung open the door to find Amanda on the other side, fist raised from when she had been pounding on the door.

“Don’t freak out,” Amanda told her, holding her phone close to her chest.

“What are you talking about?” Kaitlyn asked, placing a hand on her hip.

Amanda sighed heavily and looked down at her phone before handing it over to her friend.

Kaitlyn looked down at the phone, curious as to what had her friend so worked up. On the screen were photos of Chris with a brunette woman she didn’t recognize. They were laughing and walking side by side along the street in what appeared to be downtown Los Angeles. In a few of the pictures, he clearly had a hand pressed against the woman’s back.

“Oh,” Kaitlyn stated simply, still looking at the photographs. “I didn’t even know he was back in town.”

“Oh, Kate,” Amanda started, snatching her phone back. “I’m so sorry. I’m sure it’s nothing.”

“It’s nothing,” Kaitlyn agreed, stepping back and allowing Amanda in the house. “We just said we were exclusive two weeks ago. No big deal.” Amanda closed the door behind her, tentatively following Kaitlyn further into the house.

Kaitlyn paced away from Amanda, pulling at the roots of her hair. “Oh my god! What the fuck was I _thinking_?” she screeched, spinning around to face her friend again, her eyes wide as her anxiety fully took hold of her. “An _actor_! Did I actually think I could date an actor? And not just any actor! No! I had to go and decide that entering a relationship with Chris-Captain-Fucking-America-Evans was a good idea.” She laughed a bit manically, pulling at her hair again.

“Whoa,” Amanda said, taking a step toward her with her hands raised in surrender. “Kate, we have no idea what’s going on. Maybe it’s a costar?”

“I don’t think so,” Kaitlyn said, shaking her head vigorously and starting to pace again. “He didn’t say that he had any projects coming up, but maybe this whole thing has been a sham.”

“Well, I…” Amanda trailed off, looking around Kaitlyn’s living room as if it held the answer. “I got nothing, but I highly doubt he’s purposefully been lying to you.” She looked at Kaitlyn with what she hoped appeared more like sympathy rather than pity.

“Don’t,” Kaitlyn started, closing her eyes and waving one hand in Amanda’s direction while the other came up to pinch the bridge of her nose. “This is my mess, I’ll clean it up.”

“What do you mean?” Amanda asked, taking a seat on the couch. Maximus jumped up and snuggled against her side, she reached up and scratched behind one of the pup’s ears. “You’re not breaking up with him are you?”

“What other choice do I have?” Kaitlyn asked, throwing herself down on the couch next to her friend, bringing a hand to her forehead. 

“Uh, talk to him?” Amanda suggested, waving a hand in the air.

“I tried talking to Brad and look how well that turned out,” she replied, flopping her hands to her sides in defeat.

“Brad was a loser,” Amanda pointed out, looking over at her friend. “I made no qualms about making that fact known. Plus, we’re probably blowing this way out of proportion. You spent two years getting screwed over and now your brain has you convinced that’s the norm.”

Kaitlyn sighed heavily, leaning forward to rest her elbows on her knees and covering her face with her hands. “Am I stupid?” she muttered through her hands.

“For running away from something that has the potential to be very good for you?” Amanda asked, rolling her eyes. “Yeah, you’re stupid.”

She looked up at Amanda through her fingers. “Gee, thanks,” she mumbled, propping her chin on her hand. 

“Does he make you happy?” Amanda asked, placing a hand on her friend’s shoulder. Kaitlyn shrugged in a noncommittal way. “Oh, come on,” Amanda rolled her eyes, but a thought occurred to her. Being a nurse herself, Amanda knew that days off were for more than just running errands and catching up on primetime TV. They were days for rest, to recharge, and depending on how the shifts went, to completely ignore the world. She and Kaitlyn had been friends for over 15 years, Amanda knew that the emotional upheaval of losing her favorite patient had physically and emotionally done a number on Kaitlyn. “When did you last work?” she asked, working toward her point.

Kaitlyn shrugged again, unsure of where Amanda was going with this. “A few days ago.”

“I think,” she started, turning so she faced Kaitlyn fully. “If it weren’t for him, and me meddling of course, you’d still be in bed, hair an oily, dirty mess, and in a complete funk because of Abby.”

“You don’t know that,” Kaitlyn argued feebly, leaning back into the couch again. 

“Yes I do,” Amanda insisted. “You’re my best friend, and I _know_ you. If it weren’t for Chris, you would have been in the same downward spiral since April. You took care of Abby for months, you got attached in the best and worst possible way. He’s a big reason why you’re not in bed on your second pint of Ben & Jerry’s of the day”

“Maybe, but can I really do this?” Kaitlyn asked softly. “I don’t know if I’m secure enough to handle being his girlfriend.” 

“Again, have you actually _talked_ to him?” Amanda asked again. 

“Well, no,” Kaitlyn admitted. 

“Listen, you wanna dump him? Fine, dump him,” Amanda told her. “However, talk to him about this. Tell him about Brad. You don’t have to be specific, but talk to him about it. If he wants to support you through this, let him. If he turns out to be a dick, then you know and you can dump him.” 

Kaitlyn looked at her friend out of the corner of her eyes. “I hate it when you’re right. Now, go away, I’m calling Claire to get a second opinion.” 

“She’s going to reiterate that I’m brilliant,” Amanda stated, standing up and turning toward the door. “Don’t shut him out before he knows what he’s up against. Give him a chance.” 

Kaitlyn grabbed Amanda’s hand and pulled her back down onto the couch next to her. “Fine, you can stay,” she lamented, grabbing her phone off the coffee table. She pulled up Claire’s phone number and connected the call, putting it on speaker. 

“Hey, Katie!” Claire greeted after the second ring. “What’s up? 

“Amanda’s here, and you’re on speaker,” Kaitlyn started. 

“Whatever Amanda said, she’s right,” Claire interjected before Kaitlyn had a chance to explain. 

“You don’t even know what’s going on!” Kaitlyn whined. 

“Amanda, give me the Cliff’s Notes version,” Claire ordered. 

“She doesn’t think she’s good enough to be dating Chris,” Amanda told her. 

“That’s not what I said,” Kaitlyn argued. “I said I feel a bit insecure and not sure if I can handle all that dating him entails.” 

“Same thing,” Amanda and Claire said in unison causing Kaitlyn to roll her eyes. Including both of them in this conversation at the same time was already proving to be a bad idea. 

“Look, Katie,” Claire started, “you may not see it the same way we do, but Brad did a number on you. He broke you down in ways no one ever wants to see their loved one broken down.” Claire sniffled loudly, obviously holding back tears as she thought about the shell her sister had become. 

“She’s right,” Amanda took over. “You became a completely different person. We need the old fun, sexy, hilarious Kate back, and we think Chris can go a long way in bringing her back to us.” 

“Agreed,” Claire affirmed. “You’re my big sister, you deserve every happiness in the world. Does Chris make you happy?” she asked, cutting to the chase and getting down to the heart of the matter. 

“Well, yes, but,” Kaitlyn started. 

“No buts,” Claire interrupted. “Yes or no, does he make you happy?” 

“Yes,” Kaitlyn admitted reluctantly. 

“Yes or no,” Amanda started, turning toward her friend. “Is your anxiety more about you thinking you don’t deserve to be happy rather than actually being his girlfriend?” 

Kaitlyn glared at Amanda out of the corners of her eyes. “Maybe,” she mumbled. 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t catch that,” Claire said, laughing lightly. 

“Yes,” Kaitlyn shouted, squeezing her eyes shut and letting her head fall to the back of the couch. “I hate both of you.” 

“You love us,” Claire reminded her. “And we love you. If we didn’t, we’d allow you to just throw away something that could be wonderful for you.” 

“You need to talk to him,” Amanda reminded her. 

“Well, he’s calling right now,” Kaitlyn commented as the screen flashed his picture with the incoming call. “But I need moral support first,” she said, sending Chris’s call to voicemail. 

“What else do you need?” Claire asked. 

“I don’t know,” Kaitlyn moaned. “Do I just _tell_ him my last boyfriend was an abusive alcoholic and addict who died of an overdose?” 

“Well,” Amanda started. 

“Yes,” she and Claire finished in unison. 

“I still hate both of you,” Kaitlyn groaned, face planting into the pillow beside her. 

—————

“Hey!” Chris greeted jovially, swinging open his front door. “I’m glad you could make it!”

Kaitlyn stepped into his embrace, kissing his cheek. “I’m glad you called,” she agreed, pressing a hand to his chest as she entered his home. “I had no idea you were back on the west coast.” 

“Yeah,” he agreed, closing the door behind her. “Scott and his boyfriend are celebrating their year anniversary. I came back because Mark’s sister is throwing a surprise party for them to celebrate, and I wanted to help. I’m sorry I didn’t call you earlier to let you know that I’d be back in town.”

“Oh!” she gasped, turning and facing him with a hand pressed to her chest. She knew a myriad of emotions had to be playing across her face; varying everywhere from understanding to embarrassment, before finally settling on guilt. “I… Amanda showed up at my door with paparazzi photos of you two, and I honestly wasn’t sure what to think.” She looked up at him a bit sheepishly, biting down on her bottom lip.

“Do you really think I would cheat on you?” he asked, the hurt evident on his face.

“Well, no,” she started, looking anywhere but him. “I just — I need to tell you about my last relationship.”

“This sounds serious,” he commented, taking her hand and leading her over to the couch. He sat down and pulled her down next to him. “Anything I should be worried about?”

“No, no,” she assured, letting him pull her feet up into his lap. He pulled off her sandals and started pressing his thumbs into the sole of one of her feet. “Oh, that feels good.”

“You know you can tell me anything, right?” he asked, leaning forward to press a kiss to her lips. “No secrets.”

She chuckled lightly at the irony; both at the fact that she’d assumed he’d been keeping something from her, and because her last relationship had been shrouded in secrets. “No secrets,” she agreed, pulling her feet back and her knees to her chest.

“Now you’ve got your serious face on, so...” he commented, letting his sentence trail off before draping an arm across the back of the couch and angling his torso so he faced her.

“Well, Brad,” she trailed off, convincing herself not to chicken out. “He’s dead,” she finally blurted out. She held up a hand when she saw his brow knit together in concern as he opened his mouth to say something. “Before you go saying something lovely, let me finish.” His mouth snapped shut and nodded his head, letting her know she could continue. “Things were really, really good for the first six months, then he turned into a completely different person for the next year and a half. In hindsight, I know that’s probably when he started abusing drugs and alcohol,” she sighed heavily, running a hand through her hair and pulling it back at the nape of her neck. “He eventually began hitting me, hard enough to leave bruises,” she refused to look him in the eyes as tears burned the back of her own. “I caught him cheating on me,” she choked out, finally looking at him. “It destroyed me,” she admitted, jabbing at her chest with her index and middle fingers. She wiped at the tears that began running down her cheeks.

She scooted closer to him, her butt pressed against his hip. “You are good and kind and damn near perfect,” she told him, cupping his face in her hands. She was shocked to see his own eyes welled with tears. “And a large part of me that was destroyed by that relationship doesn’t believe that I deserve someone as wonderful as you.” She closed her eyes and pressed her forehead against his, her hands dropping to his jawline.

“Oh, Kate,” he breathed, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “I can’t promise I won’t fuck up because I am human,” he began, pulling her fully onto his lap. “However, I _can_ promise that I would never, ever intentionally hurt you.”

She nodded wordlessly, tucking her head under his chin. “I’m beginning to believe that,” she confided, wrapping her arms around his waist.

“You, sweetheart,” he started, resting his cheek on the top of her head. “Are also good and kind and you are one of the most beautiful people I know inside and out.”

“Yeah?” she asked, peeking up at him through her lashes.

“Most definitely,” he insisted, pressing a kiss to her lips. “How about we order in and find a movie or something to watch?”

“Do you think we could stay like this for a bit longer?” she asked, tucking her head back under his chin and holding him a bit tighter. 

“We can stay like this as long as you want, pretty girl,” he told her, running his hand through her hair and down her back in a soothing, repetitive motion.

—————

Kaitlyn inhaled deeply, stretching her arms languidly above her head. Her eyes slowly blinked open to sunlight streaming through crisp, linen curtains. It took a moment for her sleepy brain to process that she’d spent the night at Chris’s. Between the wine with dinner and the emotional exhaustion of telling him about Brad, she’d taken him up on his offer to let her stay the night. She turned her head to the side to find Chris with his elbow propped against his pillow and his head resting against his hand.

“G’morning, sleeping beauty,” he murmured, smiling down at her. 

“How long have you been watching me sleep?” she asked, turning fully onto her side and curling into him.

“A few minutes,” he replied, reaching down to tilt her chin up so he could press his lips to hers. “You talk in your sleep,” he teased.

“Did I say anything interesting?” she spoke softly, pressing a kiss to the underside of his jaw. 

“There may have been something about me being the best sex you’ve ever had,” he quipped, smirking at her.

“I’m pretty sure I said that after two glasses of wine last night,” she commented, hitching her leg across his hip. “You, sir, are naked.”

“Yeah, well, I figured it would be impolite to just ravage you while you were sleeping,” he replied, his hands drifting down to her ass and giving her a squeeze. “So I prepared ahead for when you finally woke up.”

“What if it was impolite to be polite?” she responded, pushing him onto his back and straddling his hips.

“What _is_ impolite is the fact that you’re _not_ naked,” he said, his hands traveling up her sides, bringing the hem of one of his t-shirts that she’d changed into for bed up with them. She raised her arms up, allowing him to pull the shirt over her head. He tossed it to the side before pressing a hand to the small of her back and bringing her crashing back down to him, his lips molding to hers effortlessly. 

She hummed contentedly against his mouth, and he took the opportunity to slip his tongue along hers. His fingertips tucked under the waistband of her panties. The pads of his thumbs tracing nonsensical patterns against her hip bones before yanking at the lacy material and tearing them along the seams.

“Hey,” Kaitlyn pouted, breaking away from his lips and sitting up. “I liked those.”

“I’ll buy you a new pair for every day of the year,” he commented, slowly pulling the ruined material from between her legs. 

Kaitlyn gasped at the sensation of her underwear dragging against her already sensitive flesh. Her eyes drifted closed, her teeth catching her bottom lip as her fingernails dug into his chest.

She cracked her eyes open to find him smirking at her with an eyebrow quirked. “What?” she asked, grinding her hips ever so slightly against his. The wetness between her legs was almost painfully obvious as he slipped a hand between them, running the pad of his thumb against her clit. 

“You seem,” he trailed off, searching for the right word, “eager,” he finished, dragging his thumb one last time down her slit before bringing his thumb up to his mouth and sucking her wetness from the digit. 

She whined, high and long at the loss, but also with the anticipation of things to come. “It’s been ten days since you last touched me,” she moaned, rising up to her knees and taking his hard cock into her hand, stroking him a few times with the tips of her fingers before dragging the head along her slit. “Fuck,” she groaned, as he nudged at her entrance before fully seating herself against him. She tossed her hair back away from her face, while bracing her hands against his ribs.

“You didn’t even take care of things yourself?” he asked, holding her hips steady to keep her from grinding against him.

“Do you really want to talk about how my hand wasn’t enough right now?” she countered, pulling his hands away from her hips and bringing them up to her breasts. His thumbs grazed across her nipples as she grinded against his hips; his pubic bone providing the friction against her clit that she so desperately craved.

“Nope,” he replied, his hands massaging at her breasts as she raised herself up off of him before slamming her hips back to his. Her toes were already curling as she repeated the process. “God, Kate,” he groaned between clenched teeth, his back arched and the tendons in his neck standing out against his skin. 

She moaned again, high and loud as she grinded against him, every nerve fiber in her being on fire. “Oh, _gooooood_ , Chris,” she keened, her pace increasing as she thrusted against him. “I -- I’m close,” she moaned, her hand drifting between them and tracing circles around her clit. 

“Come for me, pretty girl,” he moaned, his eyes hooded and blown with lust. He laced his fingers with hers, pulling her back down to him, their hands on either side of his head.

She kissed him hungrily as the fire in her belly began to catch and spread from her toes to her hair. Her lips trailed down his neck, sucking gently along his jawline. The embers being stoked deep within her belly with each stroke of him inside of her blazed into an inferno, her skin suddenly too hot, but also not hot enough. She crashed her mouth back into his, teeth colliding together; she pulled his bottom lip between her teeth, biting down with more force than she intended before throwing her head back and screaming out her release. Kaitlyn collapsed against his chest, breathless, before propping herself up slightly and continuing to roll her hips against his.

He grabbed her hips, his fingertips digging deep enough to leave bruises, as he pistoned his hips up into her hard and fast, chasing his own release. She cried out, no longer able to hold up her weight as a second orgasm washed over her already overstimulated body. “Fuck, Kate,” he groaned, his own orgasm triggered by hers. Chris wrapped his arms around her, one hand tangling in her hair at the back of her head.

“Please hold still,” she mumbled, wrapping her arms under his own to hold on to his shoulders.

“Did I hurt you?” he asked, alarm evident in his voice as he tried to sit up only to have Kaitlyn push him back down.

“You did _not_ hurt me,” she assured, looking up at him as best as she could from where her head rested against his shoulder. “I can just feel every last nerve fiber and they’re all particularly overstimulated right now.”

“Oh,” came his simple reply. “Well, good for me then,” his laughter reverberating through her chest.

“Stop,” she whined, unable to help laughing along with him. She pulled herself off of him as carefully and quickly as she could before collapsing against his side. “I don’t think I’m going to be able to walk.”

“Again, yay me,” he replied, leaning over to press a kiss to her forehead.

Kaitlyn groaned and rolled her eyes, pushing him away from her. She turned away from him, swinging her legs over the side of the bed and standing up to head to the bathroom. She’d only taken a step before her knees buckled under her weight and she collapsed back down onto the edge of the bed. Chris roared with laughter behind her. She peeked back at him over her shoulder; his arms wrapped around his waist as he laughed. “Check that ego there, buddy,” she commented dryly, standing up again and shakily making her way to the bathroom.

She emerged a few moments later to find Chris in a pair of basketball shorts before he tossed a clean t-shirt in her direction. She shook it out to find the Patriots logo printed on the heathered blue cotton. “Seriously?” she asked, pulling it over her head anyway. “Are you _actually_ trying to not get laid for another ten days?” 

He just laughed and winked at her before turning on his heel and exiting the bedroom. Kaitlyn grumbled, knowing damn well that as long as he was home she wouldn’t last ten days. 

Kaitlyn quietly made her way downstairs, finding Chris on the couch, the morning news playing softly on the TV. “Breakfast?” she called as she walked past him into the kitchen. 

“Huh?” he asked, looking over his shoulder at her as she opened the refrigerator and began pulling things out. He jumped up and joined her in the kitchen. “You know you don’t have to cook for me, right?” he asked, wrapping an arm around her waist, gently turning her to face him.

“Who said anything about cooking for _you_?” she teased, pressing a quick kiss to his lips. “I’m starving for some reason.” She gave him a wink before turning and pulling a skillet out of the cupboard.

“How do you expect me to keep my ego in check when you’re making it so easy?” he asked, bumping her hip with his. “These look significantly better on you than they do me,” he commented, snapping the waistband of his boxers that she’d pulled on.

“They’re a bit big,” she commented, indicating to where she had rolled the waistband several times over, “but _someone_ ruined the only pair of panties I had with me.”

He smirked at her, catching his bottom lip between his teeth and somehow managing to look smug and sheepish at the same time. He shook his head slightly, shaking away his playful expression before turning serious. “Hey, look,” he said softly, turning her to face him before lifting her up onto the counter. He stepped between her legs, running his hands up and down her sides as she wrapped her arms around his neck and tucked her feet around the backs of his thighs.

“Now who’s being serious?” she teased lightly. She frowned when he didn’t smile along with her. Running her fingers along his brow, she continued repeating the soothing gesture until the tension in his face eased. “What’s wrong?”

“What we talked about last night,” he began, looking at the dip between her clavicles rather than in her eyes. “Brad,” he began, clearing his throat before looking into her eyes. “I really appreciate you telling me about him, about how he treated you, and how everything ended. I know that couldn’t have been easy to share.”

She nodded silently, bringing her hands down to rest at his waist, her gaze following her hands. 

When she didn’t say anything, he took the opportunity to continue. “My life is very public, there’s not really a whole lot I can do to change that,” he told her, tucking a finger under her chin and lifting her gaze back up to him. “However, I will do everything in my power to keep you and this relationship safe and private. You _do_ deserve all the good things, and if you think I’m one of those good things then I’m here for as long as you want me.”

“There you go being damn near perfect again,” she whispered, smiling softly. 

He chuckled lightly, shaking his head slightly and taking her hands in his. “Did you ever stop to think that _I_ don’t deserve _you_?” he asked, bringing their joined hands up and pressing a kiss to her knuckles.

She bit back the retort that was on the tip of her tongue, that he was absolutely delusional to think that she was too good for him. Instead, she untangled one of her hands from his and ran her fingers through his hair. “I guess we’ll just have to spend some time proving each other wrong then,” she commented, leaning forward and pressing her lips to his.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for all the comments and kudos! They truly make my day. Thank you to those of you who are sticking around even though my update times are not as on point as I would like them to be.


End file.
